Moonfire Bride: The One they all betrayed...till she awakened

Della’s heart was beating so violently that she could barely hear anything else. Her fear had become something physical, that it sat in her chest, crawled beneath her skin and wrapped around her ribs, squeezing tighter every second.

Yet beneath the terror was another feeling entirely.

Anger.

Hot.

Bitter.

Furious anger.

Because she had done nothing to deserve any of this.

Not IronRidge.

Not Eclipse Crown.

Not the accusations.

Not the hatred.

Not this.

Imagine knowing you could scream for help, but no one would come because...it’s you. Imagine knowing that people could burst into this shed, know exactly what was happening, and probably laugh at you or worse? Point fingers and drag you by the hair.

So as his hands crawled up between her legs, she could only keep fighting. But her ankle was getting the worst of it.

”I’ll do anything else... but not this,” She begged, ”Please...,”

”But this is the only thing I want from you,” He gripped her inner thighs and squeezed, ”This is the only thing you were probably born to achieve,” He grinned, ”Pleasing someone like me,”

His finger pressed against her old underwear, and she battled against the tears and onslaught of disgust that hit her again.

”The Alpha married you, to torture you, Della. Didn’t he? Or had he ever done... anything other than that?”

The tears wouldn’t stop stinging as they came out.

”I mean, why else would you be pulling stone all morning and afternoon? Then scrubbing the Workrooms all evening?” He began tugging down the underwear, ”You should be honoured that I’m giving you the liberty to feel this...you should be trembling with excitement... but the tears will also do,” He laughed rottenly again.

He tugged till her underwear was out of the way, then he grinned again and rolled his hand back...there.

Then, he stopped.

Suddenly.

And his eyes narrowed slightly as his senses shifted.

Behind him, the door to the shed was opening again and they both froze as a familiar face walked in holding her basket.

Mara.

Her eyes widened as she walked in, like it had been a mistake. But Della doubted it was, because she must have heard them at least. Garrett had been whispering, but a wolf close enough to the shed would have heard them.

”I’m...,” She swallowed as the old man glared at her furiously, ”Pardon me, sir,” She dropped her basket and turned to leave.

The distraction was enough for Della, and she yanked her hand away from his grip that had loosened, turned around and sent a knee right between his legs. She felt as it collided with two of his precious jewels, and he groaned deeply...but she never waited to watch him fall as she shoved him out of the way and sprinted out of the shed.

She ran past Mara, and away from the fields entirely. Her lungs were already burning and her stomach was screaming in protest, but she barely felt it anymore.

Fear had become her momentum, her breath, and the only thing keeping her moving.

The castle blurred around her as she ran through corridors and archways, servants jumping aside in surprise as she stumbled past them.

Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Neither would her legs...and every time she blinked, she could still feel him behind her.

Still feel those hands.

Still hear that voice.

The memory made bile rise into her throat, and by the time she reached the upper floors, she was completely out of breath and there was a slight limp to her movement.

Then she stopped and looked at where she was staring at. The two guards stationed outside the door told her this was where Malachi currently was, probably having a meeting with several Pack officials.

The large doors stood closed and she kept staring, her chest rising and falling so violently it almost hurt.

Just a few more steps.

Just walk inside.

Just tell him.

Just say it.

Tell him what happened.

Tell him Garrett touched you.

Tell him Garrett followed you.

Tell him—

Her throat closed, because reality was always so cruel.

Every accusation.

Every dismissal.

Every cold stare.

Every punishment.

Every moment she’d begged to be believed.

And wasn’t.

She felt her heart crashing once again.

The bond stirred just then, and she felt him through it. He was aware she was close, and she felt his attention shifting.

Della’s heart leapt, and a stupid, fragile hope she hadn’t even known existed rushed through her chest.

He knows.

He can feel me.

He knows something’s wrong.

Seconds passed, but nothing happened. The doors remained closed, and no footsteps approached, how voice called her name...and no Alpha emerged.

Just silence.

Slowly, painfully, that tiny spark inside her died.

Of course. What had she expected? For him to come running? For him to suddenly care? For him to finally choose her side?

A bitter laugh almost escaped her, and she lowered her gaze. She was still shaking like a leaf and if anything, it was worse now.

Standing outside those doors.

Knowing she was only a few feet away, and still...nothing.

Della swallowed hard and stepped backwards shakily. She didn’t run anymore, she just walked away with sunken shoulders and wasted tears that wouldn’t stop coming.

Whatever had transpired between them this morning and last night must have been a fluke. Because it was high time she understood something relevant about her life and the mate bond.

It could force him to feel her...to want her... but it couldn’t force him to choose her.

.

.

.

The corridor stretched endlessly before Della as she kept walking through it, not knowing where she was going.

Didn’t care... because she knew the cursed mate bond might eventually take her back to the doors of the council chamber.

One foot moved, then another followed.

The stone beneath her boots blurred in and out of focus while servants drifted past in distant shapes and muted voices. Everything felt strangely far away, as though she were moving underwater while the rest of the castle now existed somewhere above the surface.

Her hands were still trembling, but she had tucked them beneath her sleeves.

It didn’t help.

The shame wouldn’t leave.

The disgust wouldn’t leave.

Neither would the memory.

She swallowed hard and lowered her head further. She would soon find a deserted corner in the castle, squeeze herself into the narrow space and cry out her eyes.

Because that was as far as her strength could carry her.

Her lowered head suddenly bumped into a wall right in front of her, and the impact sent her stumbling back just a little bit. Before she could even think, panic exploded through her entire body.

”Don’t touch me!” The words tore out of her throat before she realised she’d spoken, and she jerked away violently.

Her pulse went wild, and her lungs seized once more too.

For one horrible second, she thought it was Garrett.

Her gaze shot upward as she stumbled, and it locked onto a black coat and broad shoulders.

It had silver embroidery all over it, and she realised it wasn’t Garett.

He wore his work tunic with his name sewn on it and... probably didn’t own something that looked expensive...and made of pure leather.

Shocked followed instantly, because the man standing before her wasn’t someone she had expected to see.

Or maybe she had.

The Moon Goddess had a cruel sense of humour sometimes.

The figure had gone completely still too, and his silver eyes were fixed on her face. He was studying her.

Della’s breath caught, and her chest became too tight once again.

The silver eyes.

The calm expression.

The impossible presence.

The Alpha who had stood before an entire gathering and challenged Malachi without fear.

Slowly, she lifted her head all the way up and found herself staring directly into the eyes of...

Alpha Cassian.

”You’re shivering, servant,” He uttered, then tilted his head a bit, ”But you’re not wet,”

She turned her head away, ”P...p...par...pardon...”

She couldn’t even talk! The fear was still thick in her skin.

Alpha Cassian had already sniffed blood coming from her even before she had bumped into him, and his gaze raked her face and fell on her ear.

There was a trickle of blood from it, and from a tooth mark around it...it was most definitely from a bite.

More than one.

”Pardon me,” She finally spoke, and then made to walk away from him.

The moment she took a step to walk away, he caught her arm.

Della felt chills run down her spine as she froze not just because of the touch she was trying so hard not to scream about because it kept reminding her of that horrible incident, but because the air had shifted again.

Into something more vicious.

”The investigation is still ongoing, and it is impossible for your mouth to reach your ears, so tell me, little servant...” Cassian drawled, a dangerous surge of anger in his tone, ”Who shook you this hard and bit your precious pale skin?”